All Posts tagged neck pain

When people experience pain and discomfort, they will often first assume a muscle-related problem such as strain, tightness or micro-tears is responsible. As the Chiropractic Blog points out however, soreness and numbness are also often caused by a nerve-related problem. Without a proper diagnosis and treatment from a chiropractor, the root cause of your pain can go overlooked.

You’re most likely experiencing trapped or pinched nerve fibres. This is one of the most common nerve-related conditions that clients present with. Essentially a nerve in the spine becomes compressed between two bones or discs, resulting in the pinched, tingling or numb sensation you may be familiar with. A chiropractor will locate the trapped nerve and make careful manual adjustments to ease the pressure, realign the discs and free the nerve.

Another common condition is a trapped nerve. This occurs when a nerve has adhered itself to surrounding soft tissue, likely as the result of a certain repetitive movement. The motion causes friction between the nerve and nearby muscles or ligaments, creating sticky scar tissue. Consistent muscle contractions can also deprive the nerve of oxygen.

Although this could be taking place in your own body for a long time, you might not notice symptoms until the condition has worsened significantly. At the onset of symptoms you don’t want to further delay treatment by mistaking the problem for something else- so don’t assume anything. It’s always best to see a specialized practitioner who can properly identify whether your pain can be traced to a muscle problem, a pinched or trapped nerve, or both.

Your chiropractor will use gentle chiropractic adjustments to restore motion to the joints, which will relieve pressure from the nerves and allow muscles to function more effectively and without nerve-related discomfort. It may take several treatments to fully treat the problem, to eliminate pain, and to regain full mobility. Since the site of a compressed nerve is often very sensitive, a chiropractic treatment may be slightly uncomfortable at first. Your practitioner will be gentle however, and you’ll soon find that accurately diagnosing and treating the problem site results in major pain relief.

Regardless of whether you have a muscle or nerve problem, it’s important that you seek the right treatment to see lasting results and avoid long-term adverse effects.

People often make reference to their sleeping habits as the culprit for different aches, pains and ailments. Whether it’s a stiff neck, a headache, or back pain, chances are you’ve heard people chalk up various discomforts with a vague, “Oh I must have slept funny.”

So how much truth is there to this widely used explanation? Can the way we sleep noticeably impact our comfort and alignment? And what can we be doing to avoid the pains of “funny” sleeping?

Dr. Adam Tanase, a U.S-based chiropractor and blogger offers some answers. We liked his blog post “How’s Your Pillow Posture?” which does a great job of outlining some of the consequences of poor sleep posture for your spine. The questions addressed in his article are commonly asked by chiropractic patients who suffer chronic back and neck pain. So take note, and if you’re experiencing consistent discomfort when you wake up, consider adjusting your sleep posture.

How many pillows should I sleep on? The number of pillows isn’t as important as the alignment of your body. Dr. Tanase is right to emphasize the importance of sleeping with your forehead, nose and chin lined up with your spine. Need a visual? He provides a helpful link here. Usually the optimal neck angle (which is none at all) can be achieved with a single thick pillow.

What’s the best sleep position? Similar to his pillow guidelines, Dr. Tanase stresses the importance of sleeping in a position that supports a straight and balanced spine. Sleeping on your stomach is the worst choice, as it puts stress on the supportive structures of the spine, and forces you to twist your head at an extreme angle in order to sleep and breathe freely.

If you can help it, opt to sleep on your side or your back instead and remember to keep your body as straight as possible.

What damage can I do to my back by sleeping incorrectly? Poor sleep posture can worsen existing irritations and misalignments and can produce noticeable damage over time. Some of the conditions you might suffer include muscle spasm, postural distortion and thinning of your vertebral discs. The side effects will be chronic pain in the back, neck and arms. That sounds like a pretty good reason to adjust your posture to us!

On a grim note, Dr. Tanase reminds us these types of spinal decay are irreversible- so don’t delay. Take sleep posture as seriously as you do office ergonomics- just think of how many hours a week you spend positioned for sleep. This gives you an indication of how seriously sleep posture can impact your chiropractic health.